Monday, May 31, 2010

It is well known that Premchand's short stories are pro-poor considering the fact that he lived in the pre-Independence era. When social inequality was very much evident in the form of the caste system. Perhaps, the best way to get a glimpse of life during that period is to read literature from that time. And of course, Premchand's name occupies a very prominent position if not the most prominent in this regard.

In the few short stories that i've read, he describes the rich, high caste to be cruel, selfish and egoistic. The poor are stupid and subservient. One main factor that is stressed in most stories is the oppressors are ruined as a consequence to harming the oppressed or the latter face death eventually. Perhaps, the frailty of human existence then, is pointed here.